BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce held its annual Economic Forecast event on Feb. 15.
This year, Peter Kneis, group VP at M&T Bank, gave a big-picture overview of the nation’s and region’s economic growth. Four key drivers are disrupting that growth, he said in his presentation.
Employers across industries are struggling with labor shortages and wage costs, making it hard to find qualified applicants for open positions. Nationally, unemployment is 2.1 percent lower than before the pandemic, yet there aren’t enough workers to fill available jobs. While it’s improving, the Binghamton private sector is still 4,700 jobs below its pre-pandemic peak. However, the number of unemployed is smaller than before the pandemic, creating heavy competition for available workers. The area’s labor force shrank 4 percent due to retirement, structural changes, and lingering COVID-related issues.
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According to Kneis, the area is seeing upward trends in retail trade, transportation, and warehousing and manufacturing. Industries such as leisure and hospitality, health care, education, and business and professional services are struggling to recover.
Supply-chain issues including raw-material shortages, manufacturing backlogs, and shipping delays continue to affect both domestic and international supply chains.
With excess savings due to reduced expenses or government assistance, many households will be looking to spend money in 2022, creating some pent-up demand.
Finally, inflation is a concern as prices are quickly rising and hurting both businesses and consumers.
Stacey Duncan, Greater Binghamton Chamber president and CEO, presented the results of a December 2021 survey conducted with local business leaders.
The survey gives the community a sense of the current economic climate in the region, she notes. As the chamber conducts the survey each year, it will be able to chart trends and see how accurately data reflects the region’s business marketplace.
The top five state and local business challenges noted by survey participants include state business regulations, the regional economic climate, attracting and retaining employees, lack of qualified workers, and COVID-19.
The top national concerns are inflation/deflation, access to talent, COVID-19, federal legislation, and the cost of health care.
In early 2020, before the pandemic, 47 percent of the area’s businesses surveyed believe the Binghamton economy was expanding. That number has since dropped to 30 percent. At the same time, 25 percent of businesses are more optimistic this year than last. While the number is lower than previous years, Duncan noted the region is moving in a positive direction.
Nearly 40 percent of businesses that responded believe revenue for their businesses will increase in 2022, and 30 percent say revenue will hold steady.
When it comes to work-force expectations, nearly 40 percent of businesses anticipate adding employees this year, compared to 33 percent in 2020. About 71 percent of companies with less than 100 employees expect to hire workers this year.
Of those who participated in the survey, 57 percent were business owners, CEOs, or main management decision makers. Three-quarters of the respondents employ 50 or fewer people. Thirty-eight percent of businesses are located in Binghamton, with 19 percent in the town of Vestal, and 4 percent using multiple locations.
The chamber’s complete economic guide can be viewed online at: https://greaterbinghamtonchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Economic-Forecast-2022-DIG.pdf
